Case conveyer



y 1940. WVR. MAGUIRE El AL I 2,200,116

CASE CONVEYEH Filed Jan. 3, 1938 Mam? Patented May 7, 1940 1 UNITEDSTATES CASE CONVEYER,

Walter R. Maguire, .Manhasset, and Edwin J. Lockwood, Peekskill, N. Y.,assignors to Walter Maguire Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application January a, 1938, Serial No. 183,050

6 Claims.

v The present invention relates to conveyers and more particularly to anovel and improved case conveyer adapted to convey the cases which arecustomarily used in the handling of milk bottles. The accompanyingdrawing, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustratesone embodiment" of the invention, and together with the description,serves to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Figure '1 is a side elevation of a typical and illustrative embodimentof the present invention and showing one section or length of conveyer;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line I 2- -2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure2; and

Figure 4 is an enlargedfragmentary elevation of one of the lclips forjoining two conveyer sections together.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a novel andimproved case conveyer which is inexpensive to manufacture and can beinstalled with a minimum amount of labor; providing a light but verystrong construction which can be easily kept clean. A further object ofthe invention is to providea case conveyer which is uniform in itsoperation and is not subject to obstruction, and has a minimum ofwearing parts all of which can be easily and quickly replaced.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the invention,as shown in the ac companying drawing, the conveyer comprises a trough lwhich is formed from. a relatively long i and narrow sheet of metalwhich is sharply bent to the form clearly shown in Figure 2. This troughcomprises a flat bottom portion l I having upwardly divergent narrowwalls I 2, narrow slideways l4, vertical portions l6, and horizontaledge portions l8, being of substantially uniform' crosssectionthroughout itslengt'h. This formation of the trough provides a longmember which has a maximum of rigidity and is not greatly defiected whenit is loaded with cases being conveyed. The trough ill is furtherstrengthened and supported by means of vertically extending legs 20, andfour such legs are preferably provided for each conveyer section, two oneach side 24, and these portions areheld together by means (o1.lee-4.04)

of the bolts 26 passing through slots 28 in the portion 24, therebyproviding for different lengths which may be needed and permitting thelegs to compensate for unevenness in the floor. A foot 38 is welded tothe lower end of the portion 24.

Gussets 32, of substantially triangular shape are welded to the troughl0 preferably being welded at the outer side of the vertical portion [6,and the leg Zfl'is attached to its gusset by means of a pivot bolt 34passing through regis-lll tering apertures in the gusset and angleportion 22, while the leg is held in the proper angular position bymeans of the bolt 36 passing through the crossed slots 38 and 40, oneslot being formed in the gusset while the other slot is formed in theupper leg portion 22.

The structure is braced and rendered rigid by means of the cross anglebar 44 which extends from one gusset to the other and is welded to theinner lower edges of these gussets. Adjacent sections also give rigidityto the structure and these are joined together by means of the angleclips 46 which are welded to the extreme ends of each section so thatthe sections can be joined together by a bolt through each clip.

The conveyer of the illustrative embodiment can be used with manydifferent forms of conveyer chain, but as shown the chain 50 is of thetype which'frictionally engages the lower surface of the case andpropels it along the trough. A channel 52 is provided which is bolted tothe upper surface of the trough bottom II, and a similar channel 54 issupported on the angle bars 44 to support the return reach of the chain.

The conveyer thus provides an unbroken smooth upper surface, havingnarrow slideways l4 along which the cases may be slid by engagement withthe chain 50, and there are no openings into which loose or brokenwires, splinters or other case parts may project and become caught.Furthermore, the unbroken upper surface tends to confine any dirtthereby facilitating cleaning or washing of the conveyer, at the sametime keeping the floor of the plant clean. The structure as a whole isextremely rigid due to the mutual bracing 'of the parts, as well as thestiffness imparted by the long relatively sharp angubrought up againstit and in line with it, and the bolts are passed through the clips 46 atthe ends iii of each section. By tightening the bolts, the sections arefirmly held together and the conveyer chain may then be installed in theusual manner. As the legs are spaced from the section end onequarter thelength of the section, when the sections are joined together, the legsof the assembled conveyer are equally spaced and all parts are ofsubstantially equal strength.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specificmechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefromwithin the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from theprinciples of the invention and without sacrificing its chiefadvantages.

What we claim is:

l. A conveyer section comprising a trough member rigidly formed of asingle relatively long sheet of metal bent into a modified U-shape, withvertical sides, horizontal portions adjacent the bottom of said verticalsides forming slideways projecting inwardly from said sides, and acentral portion between said guideways having its upper surface belowthe level of said slideways, a chain channel disposed in said centralportion, apertured clips arranged at each end of said trough member bywhich the section may be bolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gussetplates rigidly joined to the vertical sides opposite each other anddepending downwardly from the sides, a leg secured to each gusset plateand means to adjust said leg on said plate in a vertical plane parallelto the sides of the trough comprising a bolt about which the leg may bepivoted and a second bolt operable through a slot in one or" the membersto lock the leg in adjusted position on the plate.

2. A conveyer section comprising a trough member rigidly formed of asingle relatively long sheet of metal bent into a modified U-shape, withvertical sides, horizontal portions adjacent the bottom of said verticalsides forming slideways projecting inwardly from said sides and acentral portion between said guideways having its upper surface belowthe level of said slide-ways, a chain channel disposed in said centralportion, apertured clips arranged at each end of said trough member bywhich the section may be bolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gussetplates rigidly joined to the vertical sides opposite each other anddepending downwardly from the sides, cross bars extendin between andrigidly fastened to said oppositely disposed gusset plates below thetrough member to laterally brace the depending plates, a leg secured toeach gusset plate and means to adjust said leg on said plate in avertical plane parallel to the sides of the trough comprising a boltabout which the leg may be pivoted and a second bolt operable through aslot in one of the members to lock the leg in adjusted position on theplate.

3. A conveyer section comprising a trough member rigidly formed of asingle relatively long sheet of metal bent into a modified U-shape, withvertical sides, horizontal portions adjacent the bottom of said verticalsides forming slideways projecting inwardly from said sides and acentral "portion between said slideways having its upper surface belowthe level of said slideways, a chain channel disposed in said centralportion, apertured clips arranged at each end of said trough member bywhich the section may be bolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gussetplates rigidly joined to the vertical sides opposite each other, anddepending downwardly from the sides, a leg secured to each gusset plateand means to adjust said leg on said plate in a vertical plane par allelto the sides of the trough comprising a bolt about which the leg may bepivoted, a short slot in the leg disposed longitudinally thereof andvbelow said bolt, an arcuate slot in said gusset plate, and a second boltprojecting through said slots to lock said leg in adjusted position onsaid gusset plate and trough, the arrangement of I the slots permittingthe locking bolt suficient bottom of said vertical sides. formingslideways projecting inwardly from said sides and a central, portionbetween said slideways having itsupper surface below the level of saidslideways, a chain channel disposed in said centralportion, aperturedclips arranged at each end of said trough member by whichv the sectionmay be bolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gusset plates rigidlyjoined to the vertical sides opposite each other, and dependingdownwardly from the sides, a leg secured to each gusset plate and meansto adjust said leg on said plate in a vertical plane parallel to thesides of the -trough comprising a bolt about which the leg may bepivotedand a second bolt operable through a slot in one of the members to lockthe leg in adjusted position on the plate, each side having two gussetplates and legs attached thereto, thesame being spaced from the ends ofthe trough: a distance substantially one-fourth the length of thetrough, whereby when a plurality of said sec vertical sides, horizontalportions adjacent the bottom of said vertical sides forming slidewaysprojecting inwardly from said sides and a central portion between saidslideways having its upper surface below the level of said slideways, achain channel disposed in said central portion, apertured clipsarranged: at each end of said trough member by which the section may bebolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gusset plates rigidly joined tothe vertical sides opposite one-fourth the length of the trough, wherebywhen a plurality of said sections are joined the legs will be evenlyspaced longitudinally of'the 5 joined sections, each leg being formed ofa plu rality of telescoping members whereby the section may be mountedat the proper elevated level, and

means to lock the telescoping members at the desired position.

6. A conveyer section comprising a trough member rigidly formed of asingle relatively long sheet of metal bent into a modified U-shape, withvertical sides, horizontal portions adjacent the bottom of said verticalsides forming slideways projecting inwardly from said sides and a comtral portion between. said slideways having its upper surface below thelevel of said slideways, a chain channel disposed in said centralportion, apertured clips arranged at each end of said trough member bywhich the section may be bolted to adjacent duplicate sections, gussetplates rigidly joined to the vertical sides opposite each other anddepending downwardly from the sides, cross bars extending between andrigidly fastened to said oppositely disposed gusset plates below thetrough member to laterally brace the depending plates, a leg secured toeach gusset plate and means to adjust said leg on said plate in avertical plane parallel to the sides of the trough comprising a boltabout which the leg may be pivoted and a second bolt operable through aslot in one of the members to lock the leg in adjusted position on theplate, and a second chain channel arranged below and of the same lengthas the trough member, said channel being adjustably bolted to the crossbars between the legs whereby the channel further braces the assembly.10

WALTER R. MAGUIRE. EDWIN J. LOCKWOOD.

